UMass Lowell Manning School of Business, United States
One area that has become a primary focus of attention in the telecommuting debate is the potential negative effects of remote work on worker well-being due to isolation and loneliness. In this study, we aimed to explore if people are likely to relocate when they have the opportunity to work fully remotely, and if this geographical flexibility — a relatively unexplored aspect of telecommuting research —serves as a buffer against workplace loneliness and its associated poor mental health. Employing an exploratory sequential design mixed methods approach, we first analyzed qualitative data (N = 1362), uncovering the influence of Community Embeddedness (CE) on both the choice to stay and the decision to move. This qualitative insight informed the development of a theoretical model, which we tested using quantitative data (N = 671). The results indicated that while fully remote work is associated with increased workplace loneliness and subsequent poor mental health, the movement flexibility it offers—characterized as movement for personal reasons—acts as a buffering factor. Specifically, this flexibility was linked to enhanced CE, which our findings suggest serves as a buffer against the negative mental health impacts of workplace loneliness. Thus, movement flexibility through fully remote work can enable individuals to forge a sustainable career path despite the inherent challenges of such a work arrangement. The implications of our findings and suggestions for further research are discussed.
